Lesotho

Allow me to extend to Mr. Hennadiy Udovenko the sincere congratulations of my delegation on his election to the presidency of the fifty- second session of the General Assembly. It is with great pleasure that I assure him of Lesotho’s support and cooperation as he conducts the deliberations of this body. Let me also take this opportunity to pay a special tribute to his predecessor, His Excellency Mr. Razali Ismail, for the skilful manner in which he guided the work of the fifty-first session. My delegation truly appreciates his leadership and tireless dedication to the heavy responsibilities entrusted to him during the past year. On the eve of a new millennium, the United Nations is poised on the threshold of an era of momentous changes. During the first 52 years of its existence, the Organization witnessed several changes in the configuration of international relations. Some of them were traumatic, others benign. The survival of the United Nations through all these tribulations bears testimony not only to its resilience, but also to the enduring validity of its mission. But the continued success and relevance of the United Nations in the new millennium will depend in large measure on its capacity for self-renewal and on its readiness to meet its challenges in the environment of changed global circumstances. The Secretary-General has demonstrated his willingness and resolve to bring about the much-needed change. We applaud, at the outset, his bold and far reaching proposals on the reform of the United Nations. Many of his proposals, indeed, meet with the approval of my Government, and it is our hope that the General Assembly will see its way clear to receiving them in the same manner. Some, however, do need careful scrutiny to ensure that the ideal of cost-cutting can still be achieved without compromising the overriding objective of realizing higher efficiency and effectiveness of the Organization in the execution of its mandate. We urge that the totality of these proposals should be subjected to serious scrutiny at the appropriately high intergovernmental level, with a view to implementing those that enjoy wide support as expeditiously as possible. Our hope is that this can be done in a spirit of frankness and mutual understanding without the acrimony that so often characterizes our intergovernmental deliberations. During the last two sessions of the General Assembly, we have debated and arrived at a clear understanding of the United Nations reforms that will best serve the interests of the world community in the next millennium. The reform initiatives of the Secretary- General, which cover diverse aspects of the functioning of the Organization, are therefore a timely and welcome response to our collective call for a reoriented and revitalized United Nations. Lesotho, like other States of southern Africa, has gone through difficult political problems, which have largely been resolved. The outstanding problem is economic underdevelopment. We thus attach great importance to the United Nations role in development cooperation. We recognize the need to strengthen the capacity of the Secretary-General in this area by providing him with a deputy whose principal role, in our view, should be to coordinate the Organization’s efforts and to give direction to all entities of the United Nations involved in development cooperation. We fully support the initiative aimed at facilitating the unified and cooperative functioning of all the United Nations funds and programmes involved in development operations at the field level, while at the same time reinforcing and maintaining the distinct nature of these entities. The specialized funds and programmes within the United Nations system continue to constitute an important vehicle for advancing international development cooperation, particularly in the developing countries. The 14 enhanced coordination and pooling of resources and services among the specialized funds will not only lead to better planning but will also maximize programme impact and minimize administrative costs. Indeed, Lesotho has already made its own contribution, however small, towards reaching the ideal of a unified United Nations presence in the field. The Government of Lesotho, using its own national resources, has constructed a United Nations House office complex, which will accommodate all field representatives of the funds and programmes as well as other United Nations agencies in our capital. This House was inaugurated and handed over to the United Nations Resident Coordinator only five days ago, on 25 September 1997. The suggestion by the Secretary-General for the establishment of a $1 billion revolving fund also has its own merits. Let me, however, hasten to emphasize that there can be no substitute for a demonstrable commitment by all Member States to honour their treaty obligations by paying their assessed contributions on time, fully and unconditionally, in order to ensure the financial health of our Organization. We nevertheless believe that the proposed revolving fund can only be a short-term palliative. But such a fund should serve neither to exculpate those who renege on their treaty obligations nor to place an additional burden on countries that are already making sacrifices to honour their obligations in accordance with the Charter. As we approach the fiftieth anniversary of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, in 1998, the issue of the protection of human rights is assuming an increasing importance to all our countries because of its close linkage with democracy, peace and stability. My Government therefore welcomes the Secretary-General’s proposed reforms regarding the strengthening of the Organization’s role in the field of human rights. In this connection, we wish to urge that the consolidation of the Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights and the Centre for Human Rights into one entity should not lead to the blurring of the distinction between the political functions of the High Commissioner and the purely technical functions of the Centre. The increasing globalization of organized crime, including trafficking in illicit drugs, continues to be a source of concern to the international community. It is for this reason that in our subregion, the countries of the Southern African Development Community are taking cooperative measures to combat the scourge of transnational organized crime. Lesotho believes that the proposal to establish in Vienna a high-profile United Nations office whose main focus would be on drug control and crime prevention should be given favourable consideration. With regard to the reform and restructuring of the Security Council, I can only reaffirm the view of the Lesotho Government that only equitable representation on the Security Council and an increase in its membership to no less than 26 can satisfy our aspirations. We share the view held by the majority of members of this body on the need for true democratization of the Security Council and the reform of its working methods, including the issue of the veto power. Such reform should take into account the principle of sovereign equality of States, as well as the need for transparency and accountability in the decision- making processes of the Security Council. Since the last session of the General Assembly, we have witnessed a number of developments in the international arena that augur well for world political stability and peace. Recently we all shared in the universal joy at the peaceful reunification of Hong Kong with its motherland. The United Kingdom and the People’s Republic of China ought to be congratulated for their significant contribution to world peace and for the valuable lesson that they have imparted to the world community in the sphere of resolution of disputes through dialogue. In our region, we have witnessed the birth of a new Democratic Republic of the Congo from the crucible of one of the most vicious dictatorships ever recorded in the annals of history. It is now for the international community to assist the people of the Democratic Republic of the Congo in their efforts aimed at economic reconstruction and the consolidation of democracy and accountability in their country. The acceptance of the Democratic Republic of the Congo into the Southern African Development Community at the beginning of this month was a signal of the determination of the countries of southern Africa to make their own positive contribution to the reconstruction efforts of the Congolese people. We are also greatly encouraged by the recent restoration of stability and democracy in Liberia through the assistance of neighbouring countries in that region. However, the reversion of Sierra Leone to a state of anarchy and chaos after the selfless efforts made by the international community to bring about stability in that country remains a source of great concern. Lesotho joins in the call by African States for the international 15 community to withhold recognition of the military junta in Sierra Leone and to remain steadfast in its resolve to restore democracy and constitutional legitimacy in that country. In Angola, the recalcitrance of the UNITA leadership continues to unravel the gains that had been made in the search for peace. The United Nations owes it to the people of Angola to enforce, through the Security Council, appropriate punitive measures against UNITA as a signal that those who stand in the way of peace can no longer be allowed to succeed. The recent events in the Middle East have cast a shadow on a future that seemed to hold promise for a negotiated peace. False moves have escalated tension in the region rather than abating it. We call upon Israel, as we have always done in the past, to fully implement all Security Council resolutions aimed at the peaceful settlement of the conflict in that region. All the parties to the conflict must recommit themselves to the peace process and refrain from any acts which might jeopardize a negotiated settlement. The continuous eruption of armed conflicts throughout the world, particularly in the developing countries, is a source of concern to all of us. These conflicts put a tremendous strain on the resources of the United Nations and on the Organization’s capacity to maintain international peace and security. Thus, we are encouraged by the positive attitude and the interest that some of the developed countries have in the recent years shown in cooperating with the Organization of African Unity towards enhancing Africa’s capacity in the field of conflict prevention. We also welcome Japan’s initiative to host an international conference on conflict prevention in Tokyo in January 1998. Taken in their totality, these initiatives underline the moral responsibility that rests on humanity to ensure that peoples everywhere enjoy the right to peace, development and the sanctity of life. Lesotho is generally encouraged by the progress that is being made in the field of disarmament with the recent signing of the Comprehensive Nuclear-Test-Ban Treaty and the ratification of the Chemical Weapons Convention. Despite the current relaxation of tension in international relations, disarmament must continue to be accorded high priority on the agenda of the international community with a view to achieving the total elimination of nuclear weapons. Africa has already contributed positively to the disarmament process by the signing, in Egypt, of the Pelindaba Treaty declaring Africa a nuclear-weapon-free zone. The recent international negotiations in Oslo regarding a ban on anti-personnel mines are also a step in the right direction. Lesotho fully supports the Ottawa process and urges all nations to associate themselves with it so that a truly global treaty banning the production and use of anti-personnel mines can be successfully concluded in December this year. Last year, the Assembly demonstrated the widespread and growing international support for a permanent international criminal court when it unanimously adopted resolution 51/207, which set mid- 1998 as the date for a diplomatic conference to finalize and adopt a convention on the establishment of such a court. We have been encouraged by the progress made during the last two sessions of the Preparatory Committee, held in February and in August. We appreciate the generous offer by the Italian Government to host the conference. The time has now come for the necessary arrangements for the convening of such a conference to be put in place, and reaffirming the June 1998 date will enable the Italian Government to proceed with the necessary logistical arrangements and ensure that the court is established before the end of the century. Lesotho fully and unreservedly supports that date. We remain convinced that the early establishment of the court will offer the advantage of a system that aims to serve the common global good by preventing local outbreaks of violence from becoming security crises with global repercussions, and to deter the continued recurrence of the genocide and other massive crimes against humanity that have haunted the world since Nuremberg and Tokyo. Members will recall the ninth session of the United Nations Conference on Trade and Development (UNCTAD IX), held two years ago in South Africa, whose main agenda item was on promoting growth and sustainable development in a globalizing and liberalizing economy. In the post-UNCTAD-IX period, a major challenge before us is to maximize the developmental impact of this globalizing and liberalizing world economy. This can be achieved only by ensuring that the risk of marginalizing and even excluding weaker nations from participating actively in international trade and commerce is avoided at all costs. 16 When we met during the nineteenth special session of the General Assembly, held only four months ago, we all expressed our deep concern that, compared to 1992, the overall trend regarding sustainable development in developing countries is worse today. Poverty and environmental degradation continue to afflict the lives of millions of people in many parts of the world. The staggering statistics only underline the need to strengthen the capacity of the United Nations to improve the lot of our disadvantaged peoples. In particular, they reaffirm that United Nations operational activities for development have a critical and unique role to play in enabling the developing countries to continue to lead the management of their own development process, and that the funds and programmes within the United Nations system continue to constitute important vehicles for advancing international development cooperation. It is in this spirit that we would support those efforts that are aimed at enhancing the effectiveness and the capacity of the funds and programmes in the area of development assistance. In conclusion, allow me to observe that with the vision that the Secretary-General, Mr. Kofi Annan, has brought to the Organization within his short period in office, the United Nations can and will come to terms with the challenges that lie in the years ahead. The rationalization of the structures and working methods of our Organization will surely allow us to achieve our objectives.